http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/24641THREE IVAW MEMBERS ARRESTED AT FORT BENNING GATE
Submitted by davidswanson on Fri, 2007-07-13 13:38. Nonviolent Resistance
By Adam Kokesh
http://www.ivaw.org/node/1210On July 1st, members of the IVAW bus tour drove near the gate at Fort
Benning, Georgia, on the Yellow Rose of Texas Bus for Peace, which now
says “IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR” in large letters across the side.
Fort Benning is an open post, and anyone with proper ID is allowed on
base. They turned around and parked just outside the gate. As soon as
they parked the bus, a Department of the Army police car pulled up behind
the bus with its lights on and an officer warned Jim about bringing the
bus on post.
Liam Madden and Nate Lewis decided that they would approach the gate on
foot to inquire as to whether they would be allowed to enter on foot. It
was at that point that two MPs came out from behind the fence and arrested
them for “criminal trespassing.” Fort Benning is an open post, and right
where these guys walked across is a highway that goes through base year
round. They received no warning, and were not told why they were being
detained. That was when I got the call in the Bronco while I was out
running errands with Steve.
We raced to the gate and got there just in time to see Nate and Liam
getting loaded into cruisers. One of the cops came out to where we were
standing and explained that “they had been arrested for protesting,” and
told us that if anyone crosses the line “in protest,” they will be
arrested. We have this on tape. Then the press showed up and wanted a
statement, so I waited until they were set up and put a mic on me, and
gave a statement to them and for the record to the documentarians who were
with us, and our own camera for safety. I changed my shirt so it would be
clear I was not protesting and went across to ensure that Liam and Nate
were “afforded the full protection of the law.” You can see a video of
that here. (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q8PCkxLtUI)
Fortunately, Michael Blake stepped up and dealt with all of the press that
came and really did a great job presenting our side of the story as
opposed to the Army spokeswoman’s story, which only identified me as a
“third unidentified protestor.” We’ve really seen some stupid coverage
over this. (But that all pales in comparison to the lie the Marine Corps
told about Liam Madden’s response
(
http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/6386/) to the plea bargain that, “they
were dropping the case because they had ‘received sufficient indication’
from Madden that he would no longer wear his uniform when engaged in
political activities. They also determined that his statements did not
warrant further action.)
I gave them my driver’s license right away when asked and they immediately
called it in and cuffed me. By the time we got to the station, one of the
cops that had arrested Liam and Nate, was in their control room checking
out my blog. His superior had to say, “Knock that shit off. This isn’t
Larry King live.” Then I went to the back to answer questions for some
paperwork. When the cop started with, “What is your social security
number?” I said, “I prefer not to answer that question.” “What? These
are just personal info questions. You have to answer them.” “Don’t I
have the right to remain silent?” “But you haven’t been read your
rights.” “So?” “Here’s how it works: You answer the personal info
questions, then I read you your rights, see, here’s the acknowledgement,
then I’ll ask questions about the incident and you can decline to answer
them if you want.” I responded, “Are you telling me that I only have my
rights after you read them to me? Let me tell you how it works. My
rights come from the Constitution, not from you reading them to me. I
don’t need to wait for you to give me my rights.”
more...
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
